Publications and Reports
Check out the past publications and reports from Southern’s policy team. Beginning March 2012, the policy team will bring back its quarterly newsletter, Policy Points, to disseminate. Please contact Meredith Covington if you would like to receive the newsletter.
Southern Bancorp » Public Policy
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| The Southern Good Faith Fund issued a call Monday for the state to find more money to help match low-income Arkansans’ college savings.Mike Leach, the fund’s public policy director, said the “Aspiring Scholars” program is growing and the current state funds aren’t enough to sustain the matches. |
| More must seek degrees, skills trainingMississippi has lost 50,000 jobs in the last two years and it would "need 10 more Nissans to fill the gap," state economist Phil Pepper said Friday."We will see very little increase in employment in the next several years," he said.And education will be the key to making the most of the opportunities that are there, Pepper and other speakers said during an economic forum at the Jackson Marriott sponsored by the Mississippi Economic Policy Center, an independent, nonpartisan initiative that analyzes policies. |
| The last payday lender operating a store in Arkansas closed its doors this summer, but Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said that hasn’t stopped predatory lenders from continuing to target Arkansans.Though it hasn’t filed any lawsuits against them yet, the attorney general’s office has sent about 30 warning letters to so-called payday lenders who have either loaned or offered to loan money to Arkansas residents over the Internet. |
| The last payday lender has left Arkansas, according the organization that led opposition to a business plan that routinely charged triple-digit interest rates for short-term loans.Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending announced Tuesday that First American Cash Advance, the last payday lender to operate in the state, closed its last Arkansas store on July 31. |
| LITTLE ROCK—Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending (AAAPL) formally announced today that the last payday lender has left Arkansas, declaring victory on behalf of all those victimized by a predatory industry that drowns borrowers in triple-digit interest rate debt.AAAPL hosted a news conference today near a former payday lending store in Little Rock once operated by First American Cash Advance. First American, the final payday lender to cease operations in Arkansas, closed its last store on July 31. AAAPL released its latest independent research report, which highlights developments over the last year that ultimately culminated in payday lenders leaving the state for good. |
| Webmaster Note: Michael Rowett serves as the Chairman of Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending (AAAPL) on behalf of Southern Good Faith Fund, an affiliate of Southern Bancorp.Highlights Payday loans often create more problems than they solve. Banks, credit unions offer alternatives for tapping quick cash. Credit counselors can rearrange finances to free up money.The recession drags on, and many consumers facing financial emergencies are looking for quick cash. For years, payday lending -- in which borrowers get small loans to tide them over until the next payday -- has been a popular option.Currently, there are about 22,000 storefront payday loan stores nationwide, according to the Consumer Federation of America in Washington, D.C. On average, the industry makes $40 billion in loans and collects $6 billion in finance charges from borrowers each year.But taking out a payday loan isn't necessarily a smart financial move for the borrower. |
| Webmaster Note: Southern Good Faith Fund has been leading the Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending coalition to protect Arkansans from abusive rapid refund anticipation loans.LITTLE ROCK — A state lawmaker says he wants more protections for consumers who apply for so-called “instant refunds” or “cash advances” on their income tax refunds.Rep. Darrin Williams, D-Little Rock, said he plans to present Friday in the House Insurance and Commerce Committee a bill that would require any business offering short-term loans based on anticipated tax refunds to disclose to consumers any fees they may have to pay. |
| Housing Arkansas, a coalition of affordable housing advocates in the private, government and nonprofit sectors, held a news conference today to highlight legislation that would create a statewide housing trust fund for Arkansas. The trust fund would allow access to quality housing for a broad range of Arkansans. |
| The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Check Cashers Act violated the state constitution, according to the Associated Press.In a 6-0 decision, the court overturned a Pulaski County judge who last year ruled that the act was constitutional after justices sent the case back to his court without ruling on the law itself. |
| Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending (AAAPL) held a news conference July 16, 2008, to release a report evaluating payday lenders' compliance with Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's March 2008 order to stop making loans. The report found that 101 of 156 lenders have complied with McDaniel's order and stopped making loans while the remaining 55 remain open in defiance of the order. |
